Brenda Eskridge (Gaston County Schools, At-large, North Carolina, candidate 2024)
From Ballotpedia
Ballotpedia does not currently maintain this page. Please contact us with any updates.
Brenda Eskridge ran for election for an at-large seat of the Gaston County Schools school board in North Carolina. She was on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024.[source]
Eskridge completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
[1]Biography
Brenda Eskridge provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on November 4, 2024:
- Graduate: Drexel University, 2016
- Gender: Female
- Religion: Christian: Baptist
- Profession: Director
- Incumbent officeholder: No
- Campaign slogan: Where Partnership Meets Integrity in Education
- Campaign website
Elections
General election
General election for Gaston County Schools, At-large
Brenda Eskridge, Tommy Johnson, and Jeff K. Ramsey ran in the general election for Gaston County Schools, At-large on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | ||
Brenda Eskridge (Nonpartisan)  | ||
| Tommy Johnson (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Jeff K. Ramsey (Nonpartisan) | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Election results
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Eskridge in this election.
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Brenda Eskridge completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Eskridge's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
Brenda Eskridge earned a master’s in health administration (MHA) from Drexel University’s College of Nursing and Healthcare Professions and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Health Services to address the shortage of primary care physicians in the United States. With over 27 years of industry experience, she has held leadership roles in operations management, revenue cycle management, business development, budget oversight, and strategic planning. Currently, Brenda works in the Legal Affairs department as the Director of Professional Billing Governance and Risk at CaroMont Health.
In 2023, Brenda founded The Jonah Pearl Group, a healthcare consulting firm dedicated to empowering independent physician practice owners to thrive in a dynamic and ever-changing industry. In addition to her extensive healthcare experience, Brenda is a servant leader. Brenda is a licensed Realtor because she believes in economic empowerment through home ownership. She also serves on two boards: Vice Chair for Catherine’s House, a transitional home for women and children experiencing homelessness in Belmont, and as a board member for St. Paul Baptist Church in Charlotte. Brenda is the precinct chair for Mount Holly and Catawba Heights, and a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., where community service is a top priority. Her greatest accomplishment thus far is being a mom of 3 wonderful children, ages 25, 19, and 4.
- Teacher recruitment and retention must be a top priority. Our teachers are the backbone of our education system. I would advocate for competitive salaries and professional development opportunities to attract and retain talented educators. Unfortunately, we are losing great talent to neighboring districts and other states because the salary and teacher supplement in GCS is not comparable. We have to get this right, otherwise our students -- the future leaders of this nation, will continue to be negatively impacted.
- Every student deserves a 5-star, quality education. Currently, 27% of students are chronically absent from school, only 85% of 9th graders graduate within 4 years, 43.5% of students grades 3-8 are reading at grade level proficiency, and we have been lagging behind the state average in graduation rate for 6 consecutive years. Our children are not one-size fit all. We must take a holistic approach with our students to meet their needs mentally, emotionally, and physically. That requires partnership with organizations that can help us improve student well-being, close learning gaps, and address social determinants that prevent students from performing their best. We can't do this without appropriate partnerships.
- We have to prepare our students for college, careers, and life. We need to elevate and expand our CTE programs by partnering with local businesses to ensure that our current programs are aligned with the current job market demands. We need roundtable discussions with the industry experts because they can inform on where our focus should lie based on real-time industry insight. That way we can ensure students are developing the skills relevant to local and national industries. We also need to introduce new programs. What else our student interested in that we are not offering? We take that info and reach out to industries that can offer programs, mentorship, and shadowing opportunities that help them make informed decisions for the future.
Too many to name, but my top 6 would be education funding, curriculum standards, teacher recruitment and retention, parental and community engagement, technology and infrastructure, and school safety and security.
My grandparents raised me and taught me the value of hard work. I was taught to be a person of my word, and always operate with integrity and high standards. I took their foundational teachings into my first job, where I excelled. I would also shout out my public school teachers who made an impact on my life and helped shape me into who I am today. I can never forget my 6th grade teacher, Ms. Mckinney-Ludd, who called my grandmother to tell her I had on red lipstick one day. In hindsight, I understand exactly why she did that — despite my rebellion at the time. There are other teachers who made a tremendous impact on me as well. Every child deserves to experience that level of genuine interest. They all played a role in shaping me into the woman I am today.
I don't have a political philosophy. I have a people philosophy. I believe that we should love one another. Show respect for differences. Lead with understanding and empathy, and just do right by people. I recently watched a movie on Amazon Prime called "The Forge". Let's just say we need more of that.
My campaign slogan is, "Where Partnership meets Integrity in Education." We need leaders on the board who will collaborate and partner with a diverse group of stakeholders. We need leaders who are transparent, take accountability for their decisions and actions, and who operate with the utmost integrity. We must be fair, decisive, and most importantly have the ability to show empathy to all.
I believe the core responsibilities for this role includes:
1. Setting the vision and goals for the district,
2. Adopting policies that govern the operation of the schools from curriculum to school safety,
3. Approval and oversight of the school's budget and resources allocated,
4. Participate in hiring the best superintendent,
5. Regularly engage with the community to create a sense of transparency and trust,
6. Advocate for the unique needs of our students, teachers, and schools,
Claire Huxtable. She was smart, internally beautiful, fair, and loving. But she was matter of fact and took education seriously. That would be me!
To provide governance and oversight for the school district, ensuring that it delivers a high-quality education to all students.
The school board is a non-partisan role. As a candidate for the Gaston County School Board At-Large seat, my constituents include all residents of Gaston County who are eligible to vote in the election. This includes parents, teachers, students, and community members who are invested in the success of our public school system. I would represent the interest of the entire county.
In health care we strive to provide equity. We need equity in education. This means everyone has what they need, how they need it, and when they need it — understanding barriers, circumstances, and conditions.
We have to keep talking to our state legislators and local leaders -- holding them accountable for providing the funding we need throughout the county.
I am a mom first. I want our policies to reflect what would make me feel safe and secure as a parent.
I think we should expand on the Community Schools model that incorporates community-driven policy, school design and service implementation into the school setting. Each Communities in Schools program surrounds young people with a community of health and mental health care providers, career counselors, tutors, mentors, lunch buddies, classroom and homework club volunteers caring adults who can help them prepare for life. It has been operating in Gaston County since 2002, but as far as I am aware only 2 schools have participated. There are schools across the country having success with this model. We can also partner with organizations such as Better Help to offer virtual mental health resources to our students and teachers, just as we are doing with the partnership with Kintegra for virtual sick visits. Truthfully, we need to increase mental health staffing -- there are not enough counselors, psychologist, and social workers to manage the student population. According to the American School Counselor association the recommended ratio is 1 counselor for every 250 students. In 2023 Gaston was currently 274:1. We need to increase these resources,
Studies highlight the effectiveness of community meetings in gathering feedback and fostering transparency, along with creating transformational change for students. I propose we build relationships through social media, regular town hall meetings, focus groups, surveys, public hearings or input sessions, meeting individually with not only parents, but various community groups.
It is a must. No exceptions.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Gaston County Schools, At-large |
Footnotes
